DDoS attacks on the rise

It seems like every time we turn on the Internet there's a new DDoS attack on some very important company. Today everyone is talking about Australia, specifically the politically motivated DDoS attacks on the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). Other high-profile DDoS targets include IMDB, the Eurpean Parliament, CNN, WikiLeaks, Rackspace, and many ecommerce and government websites. It looks like everyone in the connected world is a potential target for DDoS.

There are a few different motivations behind DDoS attacks:

Hacktivism: cyber-activists attack a target due to a political event. The Indonesian Cyber Army claimed that took credit for the attacks on the AFP and the RBA, and claimed they were “going to strike again (unless) Australia apologizes to the people of Indonesia.”

Hiding a crime: The attacks are intended to distract a victim from another more damaging crime. In August of this year it was reported that several banks fell victim to low-power DDoS attacks that succeeded in consuming the IT resources for an extended period of time. While these DDoS attacks distracted the IT teams, the attackers captured several million dollars through fraudulent wire transfers.

Causing trouble: I don't need to explain this one, right? They do it for fun. They do it for money (hackers for hire). They do it for bragging rights. No grand reason needed here; they're just doing for themselves.

Whatever the reason, you need to make sure that you're protected from DDoS attacks. Unfortunately that's not as simple as dropping a firewall into place; you'll need a device that offers protection specifically against DDoS. Additionally you'll want to avoid becoming part of the botnet that carries out these attacks. Tools like the Barracuda Web Filter and Barracuda Spam & Virus Firewall can help with this.

I want to spend the next few weeks reviewing DDoS attacks and how Barracuda can help you fight them off. The Barracuda Web Application Firewall has a new suite of DDoS Protection Capabilities that provide you with powerful protection against these attacks. You're going to love it.

Until then, if you'd like more information about the Barracuda Web Application Firewall, check out these resources:

Christine Barry is Senior Chief Blogger and Social Media Manager at Barracuda. In this role, she helps bring Barracuda stories to life and facilitate communication between the public and Barracuda internal teams. Prior to joining Barracuda, Christine was a field engineer and project manager for K12 and SMB clients for over 15 years. She holds several technology credentials, a Bachelor of Arts, and a Master of Business Administration. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan.

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About Christine Barry

Christine Barry is Senior Chief Blogger and Social Media Manager at Barracuda. In this role, she helps bring Barracuda stories to life and facilitate communication between the public and Barracuda internal teams. Prior to joining Barracuda, Christine was a field engineer and project manager for K12 and SMB clients for over 15 years. She holds several technology credentials, a Bachelor of Arts, and a Master of Business Administration. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan.